What really grinds my gears? Episode 10 - Broken Dreams

Peter sat down at his desk. He was overcome with emotion, he leaned forward and put his head into his folded arms. Peter began to sob as the on-air light turned to red.

Cameraman: "Mr Griffin? We are on the air."
Peter: "I don't care." *Sniff*
Camerman: "But Mr Griffin, this is you're tenth episode. It's a milestone."
Peter looked up from his arms. He had a very sad look on his face.
Peter: "Sorry, I just can't do this today."
He stood up and walked away from the set, and through the fire exit door. The cameraman kept rolling, and asked his producer what to do.
Producer: "Follow him".
The cameraman followed Peter outside. Peter had walked to the top of a grassy hill, he was looking up at the beautiful sunset.
Peter: "God" *Sniff* "Why do you do this? Why do you let them be so misused? It ... It really ... really grinds my gears."

The broadcast cuts away to the video below.

Apologies for the emotional wreck that is Mr Griffin, it might be his last show. This blog will be about many of the underutilized wrestlers who have graced our television screens over the years. Many fans appreciate the hard work and dedication of those wrestlers, and we often determine who is underrated, or blatantly overrated.

An underutilized talent could mean many things, it could mean the wrestler never got the breaks they deserved. It could mean they were held back due to circumstances out of their control. It could even mean they reached the top, only to be brought back to mediocrity in a short time.

I bet you already have images in your mind on who these wrestlers are. Let's go through some of these names. Let's go through all those broken dreams, all the sacrifices made. Let's appreciate the wrestlers who should have gone all the way, the present athletes who are still being held back, and those who should have stayed at the top for so much longer.

Legends who never won the WWF title

Roddy Piper - Many legendary wrestlers never reached the top, Piper is well known for never reaching that level, despite being incredibly popular and talented.

Ted DiBiase - One of the greatest heels of all time. Excellent on the mat, and very charismatic.

Mr Perfect - Regarded as one of the greatest in-ring technicians of all time. He brought prestige to the Intercontinental title, and despite being AWA World Champion, he never reached the top in the WWF.

Tito Santana - One of the greatest workers in the 1980s. He was held down in the mid-card, never being allowed to go to the next step, over guys like Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior.

Dynamite Kid - He changed the wrestling business with his innovative style. Many have emulated him, arguably the greatest British wrestler of all time. Only rivaled by the next name. (Should be in the Hall of Fame)

The British Bulldog - During the 90s, his feud with Bret Hart was legendary. He was set to go to the next level, but it just never happened. (Should be in the Hall of Fame)

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Ricky Steamboat - Incredibly popular, incredibly talented. The man could still run rings around half of the WWE roster. The Dragon was held down due to the mighty popularity of Hulkamania.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts - Another incredibly popular, and talented wrestler, who sacrificed everything for the business. Should have been so much bigger. (Should also be in the Hall of Fame)

Rick Rude - One of best heels in the business. His look had guys jealous, while the girls drooled over him. Deserved so much more. (Should be in the Hall of Fame)

Apologies if I missed anyone out. As you can see, the 70s to mid 90s had so much talent, and it was dominated by the likes of Backlund, Hogan, Savage, Bret Hart, Diesel and Shawn Michaels, that a lot of these talents never got the chance to shine. So many broken dreams. Can you imagine if even half of these wrestlers had a chance to hold the WWF title?

Underrated Wrestlers from the Attitude Era.

William Regal - The man has it all. He has charisma, he has more technical ability in his little finger then most can dream about. Could you imagine it? A super heel William Regal holding the WCW, or WWF title? Then Vince McMahon made him kiss his ass.

Goldust - Ok bare with me, just for one second. The gimmick of Goldust has always been one of the most bizarre, but the way Dustin Rhodes played the gimmick was absolutely legendary. Can any of you say, that you could go out there in front of the world and do what Dustin Rhodes did? It's difficult to imagine Goldust as a World Champion, but the WWE could have changed Goldust and made him more of a serious competitor.

Lance Storm - Another man who has all the technical prowess you can ask for. He did very well in ECW and WCW, but was severely misused in the WWE. They gave him a stupid gimmick, when all they had to do was keep him heel, keep him serious, and his ring work would have done the talking.

Dean Malenko - Excellent wrestler, truly legendary. His only problem was his charisma and height. With all the big gimmicks and loud personas, it was easy for the casual fan to overlook someone like Malenko. Should have been a World Champion somewhere at least once.

Chris Benoit - Exactly the same problem as Malenko and Storm. Incredible athlete who sacrificed his body and life on a daily basis. Its difficult to say anyone worked harder then Benoit. He could have carried WCW on his back, and he should have held the World title a lot longer then he did.

Taz - A monster. Truly brutal suplex machine who was so underutilized in the WWE, it would have made every ECW fan sick to their stomachs.

Rhino - Similar to Taz. So intense, such a hard worker, never given the opportunity to shine in the WWE.

2 Cold Scorpio - Incredibly underutilized almost everywhere he went. Only ECW treat him with respect.

Kid Kash - Brilliant worker. He can do it all, except maybe he lacks charisma. He can be a great heel when allowed too. Still underutlized to this day.

Jerry Lynn - Just like the Malenkos, Storms, Regals and all the rest of the technical masters, Jerry Lynn was poorly used in the WWE, and they should be ashamed. ECW, ROH, and TNA treat him a lot better.

Chris Jericho - One man who only just creeps into this list. He could have been so much bigger, but with the likes of Austin, Rock, Taker, Triple H and so many other huge names around, he was never allowed to be "The Man". He did win tons of championships though, it was just bad timing really. If Jericho was in his prime right now, CM Punk would have trouble keeping Y2J down.

Billy Gunn - He almost got there. He won King of the Ring, he was set to go to the next level, but it just never happened. Maybe his Mr Ass gimmick made it so people couldn't take him seriously as a threat? Who knows.

Diamond Dallas Page - Severely underutilized in the WWE just after WCW went down. It was definitely not a good thing.

Once again, there are so many more names I could mention, but at the risk of running out of space, lets move on shall we?

Underutilized Men and Women of the Modern Era.

Dolph Ziggler - In an era where wrestling is in a slump, the WWE is in dire need to create new stars. This man is so far on the edge, it hurts his feet to stay there. Anyone can see the passion he has, how hard he works, just give this man the World title already. Stop having him lose to Cena, despite having all that backup, it's not helping his cause whatsoever.

Samoa Joe - Since his famous ROH World title reign, and his TNA winning streak, Joe has floundered around the mid-card like an old man lost in a supermarket. Give this man a much deserved push, he could carry TNA with his eyes closed. Clearly he's not said the right things backstage.

Shelton Benjamin - The guy who made Money in the Bank matches exciting. Anyone who has seen him perform knows why he is underrated. I still cringe when I think of the time he had his "Mama" come out to manage him.

Kaval - I really hate calling him that. Low-Ki is an absolute warrior in that ring, the fact he was put onto a "Rookie" show automatically labelled him as underutilized. Watch his TNA and ROH matches, you won't be disappointed.

Tyson Kidd - A work horse. Just because he's small, doesn't mean he can't get over. Just give him the ball and see where it goes.

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Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley - Motor City Machine Guns deserved those Tag titles more then anyone. Sabin deserved a World title push at some point, and Shelley should have at least gained an X-Division title. Silly TNA for not using them properly, shameful.

Eric Young - Absolute pro in the ring, and on the mic, EY will play any gimmick you give him to perfection. It seems TNA wants to keep him as the company clown, instead of make a real star out of him. When Chris Jericho labels you as one of the most underrated in the business, you're doing something right.

Doug Williams - Probably a bit too late for him now. Doug, like so many other technical masters, never quite got the push they deserved due to a lack of charisma. His last meaningful run was with the X Division title a couple of years ago. Should have been a World Champion at least once in his prime.

Christopher Daniels - How this man never got to hold the World title during the Golden era of TNA I do not know. It's pretty baffling to be honest, he is one hell of an arsehole, he could even make Mormons hate him.

Taylor Wilde & Sarita - These two girls are amazing athletes, Taylor held the Knockouts title, but Sarita didn't, which is a damn shame. The Knockouts Tag Team titles were only ever relevant when they held it after winning the tournament.

Natalya - What the hell is WWE doing with Natalya? Give her the Divas title already, its more logical then Spock doing a class on how to be logical.

The idea for this blog can be credited to Ace Lancaster. I wanted to highlight that some of these names may not have got pushes due to their own decisions, or by decisions out of their control. Nevertheless, there may be other names you wish to add yourself, feel free to comment and leave your favourite underrated wrestlers ever.

This might be the last in the blog series. Peter Griffin is running out of things to rant on, and I am running out of things to explain. I love Pro wrestling, maybe I should start up a totally different blog series highlighting what I really do like about wrestling.

That's what the world needs nowadays, more positivity. Let's hope the wrestling companies of today get their acts together, and create a new boom period for us all to enjoy.

PS: If a wrestlers name didn't show on this blog, it was because I either:
1) Overlooked them.
2) They are being used well at this moment in time.
3) They suck balls.
4) Your mum was good last night. (Oh I went there, twice.)

Like Mr Ziggles says, keep cheering for me, I shall ignore you and keep working my ass off. Farewell.

Comments

Mike Awesome was one of my favorites in ECW, especially during his feud with Masato Tanaka. In fact, he debuted in WCW while he was still ECW champ. Unfortunately, WCW completely misused him on a number of levels. He was given the abysmal gimmick of the fat chick thriller. As a shock to no one, that gimmick failed and he was put in the Team Canada stable even though he is from Florida. He also spent part of his WCW tenure playing a role of a guy from the 1970's. While he was a bruiser in the ring he was never great on the mic and certainly wasn't funny. However, WCW gave Awesome his own show which was so bad it makes MizTv look like Piper's Pit. The segment would be a 70's theme with Awesome wearing leisure suits on a set with lava lamps and other 70's items....abysmal.

Neal: Eh, look, I don't want to be rude, but I'm not much of a conversationalist, and I really want to finish this article, a friend of mine wrote it, so... Del: Don't let me stand in your way, please don't let me stand in your way. The last thing I want to be remembered as is an annoying blabbermouth... You know, nothing grinds my gears worse than some chowderhead that doesn't know when to keep his big trap shut... If you catch me running off with my mouth, just give me a poke on the chubbs...

"Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" Family Guy's quote is a tribute to the movie and John Candy.

Great blog once again! Thanks for giving me credit but you are the one that writes these awesome blogs so you definitely deserve all of the credit my friend. Please don't retire this series just yet. There's plently of things to complain about in the wrestling biz haha. I would actually love to hear your thoughts on Cena and why you think the "smart" fans can't stand him.

As far as this blog goes you hit it perfectly. "Broken Dreams" fits so well especially since poor Drew got the shaft big time. It's like since he was put into that Elimination Chamber match he's been pushed off of a cliff and still falling. I was impressed with him in that match. And Dolph....what are they waiting for?? He's got the "IT" factor!! Give him a belt and let him shine. He doesn't need AJ and Big E or Vicky. The WWE needs to let him be the SUPERSTAR everyone knows he can be.